While it's still raining
Make the room safe
If water is near light fittings or power points, turn the power off at the switchboard. Keep out of any room where the ceiling is bulging or sagging.
Catch it and record it
Put a bucket under the drip and move what you can. Take photos and a short video with the time showing, before you move anything else.
Call the right people
For storm damage emergencies, call the SES on 132 500. If it's storm damage, ring your insurer early, since many can arrange a tarp. Leave the roof alone until the rain stops and a roofer can get up there.
Why Brisbane roofs leak when they do
A year's rain, delivered in bursts
The city centre averages 1,048.2 mm a year over about 82.8 days with 1 mm or more. So when it rains here, it often rains hard, especially in the summer storm months. A roof that copes with steady drizzle can still leak in a cloudburst.
Alfred showed what a downpour can do
Ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred gave Brisbane its wettest day in 51 years in March 2025, with 275.2 mm at the gauge. Rain driven by strong wind pushes water sideways under tiles, laps and flashings, so the leak often shows up somewhere it never has before.
Humid nights can look like a leak
Summer dew points in Brisbane average about 20 °C. Under a metal roof with no foil or insulation beneath it, moist air can condense on the cold underside of the sheets and drip. Lysaght says foil laminate draped between the supports acts as a vapour barrier. Condensation needs a different fix from a leak, so get it diagnosed first.
Where the water usually gets in
On tiled roofs, look first at cracked tiles, crumbling ridge mortar and valleys packed with leaves. On metal, it's rusted or loose screws, lifted laps and the flashings around chimneys, vents and skylights. A roofer will often run water over one section at a time to find the entry point.
Hail damage can hide for weeks. A cracked tile may hold until the next big downpour drives water through it, which is why a leak can appear long after the storm that caused it.
If a recent roofing job is leaking
The QBCC lists a leaking roof as an example of defective work, and under the Queensland Home Warranty Scheme, a defect that lets water into a home counts as a structural defect. Write to the contractor first, list the problem and give a reasonable time to fix it, such as 14 days. To keep a home warranty claim open, lodge a complaint with the QBCC within 3 months of noticing the problem.
What to ask before a Brisbane roofer starts on a leak
- How will you find where the water's getting in, and will you show me photos?
- Is the price for finding and fixing the leak, or only for the visit?
- If it leaks again in the next storm, will you come back at no charge?
- Could this be condensation rather than rain?
- Which QBCC licence covers this repair, and what's the number?
Where we'd start
We'd get a tarp or temporary fix on quickly if water's coming through, then have the cause found and repaired properly in dry weather. We wouldn't let a small leak ride out a Brisbane summer, because each storm soaks the ceiling and timbers again. Our national roof leak repair page covers the detail, and the Brisbane hub has the wider local picture.
Want a roofer to take a look?
Tell us the job and your postcode. We match it with a Find My Roofer certified roofer who specialises in that kind of work, and they call you to quote. Your number goes to them alone.